Shin Megami Tensei V - Should You Get Apsaras or Leanan Sidhe?

December 1, 2021 Wolf Knight Shin Megami Tensei V 5

A guide on getting Apsaras or Leanan Sidhe in Shin Megami Tensei V (SMT 5). Included are the side quests to get Apsaras or Leanan Sidhe, locations, conditions to recruit them, and best demon to choose.

Shin Megami Tensei V - Should You Get Apsaras or Leanan Sidhe?

Should You Get Apsaras or Leanan Sidhe in Shin Megami Tensei V?

Upon reaching Shiba Park in Shin Megami Tensei V (SMT 5), you will be able to initiate to kinds of subquests that allow you to recruit two different demons who are at odds with each other. Talk to Apsaras to begin The Spirit of Love which requires you to defeat Leanan Sidhe. Alternatively, you can hear out Leanan Sidhe upon finding her to begin The Water Nymph subquest and defeat Apsaras instead.

Subquests List

Since it is impossible to clear both quests in one playthrough, you must make the decision on whether to help Apsaras or Leanan Sidhe. The demon who you sided with will join your party afterwards.

Getting Apsaras

Clear The Spirit of Love Subquest

Apsaras will join you if you agree to defeat Leanan Sidhe in The Spirit of Love subquest. Simply find Leanan Sidhe in Shiba Park (north) and ignore her plea to help her instead.

The Spirit of Love Quest Walkthrough

Should You Get Apsaras?

Shin Megami Tensei V - Demon Apsaras Icon

Lv. 16
Race Yoma
Skills Dia +1, Bufu +2, Mabufu +2

Apsaras Demon Stats and Skills

If you choose to side with Apsaras and defeat Leanan Sidhe, Apsaras will join your party upon clearing the quest. In general, it is recommended to get Apsaras if you do not have any demons with Ice skills (though you may have recruited Daemon or Obariyon already and have leveled them up from that point in the game). Apsaras does really well against the game’s first boss Hydra who is weak to Ice. You do, however, need to watch out for Hydra’s Fire Breath attack since Apsaras is vulnerable to Fire.

You can also fuse Apsaras (Yoma) with Agathion (Yoma) to get Aeros (Element). Fuse Aeros with Cait Sith (Beast) to get Inugami (Beast).

Getting Leanan Sidhe

Clear The Water Nymph Subquest

After talking to Apsaras and initiating The Spirit of Love subquest, talk to Leana Sidhe in Shiba Park. Agree to help her instead and take out Apsaras.

The Water Nymph Quest Walkthrough

Should You Get Leanan Sidhe?

Shin Megami Tensei V - Demon Leanan Sidhe Icon

Lv. 17
Race Femme
Skills Marin Karin +3, Mamudo +3, Media +2

Leanan Sidhe Demon Stats and Skills

Choosing to side with Leanan Sidhe, meanwhile, requires you to defeat Apsaras. Upon doing so, Leanan Sidhe will join your party who is likely the first demon you get that has access to Dark skills and learns the party-wide healing skill Media (very useful for the early game). Leanan Sidhe also works well in the Hydra fight because of her resistance against the boss’ multi-target Dark attack.

Which Demon Should You Side With?

Choose Leanan Sidhe.

It is generally recommended to get Leanan Sidhe (especially for your first run) by defeating Apsaras because of the utility the former grants with Media early on. This makes the task of managing the party’s HP easier during first few boss battles. Going with Leanan Sidhe, as mentioned earlier, also immediately grants you a party member who can use Dark skills, which is extremely rare for demons you can recruit near the beginning of the game. This further makes her the better choice over Apsaras overall.

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5 Comments

  1. You’re forgetting one crucial reason to choose Apsaras over Leanan: she’s the first demon who learns Tarunda, which is a godsend against bosses, especially on Hard. While Media is obviously a great skill, you can use Angel’s unique skill as a replacement, but the only alternative to Tarunda at this stage is Fang Breaker–which is viable, but costs about twice the MP and can be evaded. Either way you need to grind out two levels before either Tarunda or Media is available, but fortunately those demon statues that grant all your demons a level up are lying around to make the process way easier.

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  4. The info about Leanan is inaccurate. She has a WEAKNESS to Poison and doesn’t recieve Media until one level after obtaining her… requiring 7k exp. Which means, if you’re like me and doing this right before the boss fight, you likely won’t even have the skill unless you feel like grinding a bunch.

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